Maybe, but not necessarily. Calluses on the inside edge of the big toe are often an indicator of overpronation (tendency to roll your foot inward) when you run. Or it could just mean there's a pressure point or an odd fit of your shoe or something else that causes excess friction in that location.

Maybe, but not necessarily. Calluses on the inside edge of the big toe are often an indicator of overpronation (tendency to roll your foot inward) when you run. Or it could just mean there's a pressure point or an odd fit of your shoe or something else that causes excess friction in that location.

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I think he's talking about the outside of his big toes (where it contacts the inside of the shoe), not the inside (where it contacts the other toes). Maybe he could confirm though as we all seem to be reading it differently as our definitions of inside and outside may be different in this situation. The outside (or what I refer to the as the outside, even though it's the inside of my foot) is where I have my issues, I have wide feet as another poster noted.

Yes, when I said inside edge, I meant the medial side of the toe, where the big toe contacts the shoe/sock. Also want to clarify that I was answering the OP's question wondering if it could be an indicator of something with his mechanics. Yes, the callus could be a sign of a possible flaw in your running mechanics, but no it's not definitive and there are other things that could cause a callus in that area such as the fit of the shoe. If the OP wants to check it out he can get a gait analysis done for free at a running shoe store.

From the SuperFeet websiteIf there is a large callus build-up on the side of the big toe and at the ball of the foot, this is an indication of over-pronation in the rearfoot. As the foot hits the ground and starts to pronate, the foot will elongate and you will start to get pressure on the side of the big toe and at the ball of the foot. When the foot leaves the ground, instead of the big toe flexing and the foot leaving the ground pointed straight ahead, the foot will actually rotate and swivel to the outside. Therefore, you will be pushing off the side of the big toe and the side of the ball of the foot instead of allowing the foot to leave the ground going straight ahead.

Are you absolutely sure your tennis shoes fit properly? (Some shoes narrow at the toes more than others.)

Do you wear thick tennis socks like Thorlo Level 3's?

Do you always retie your shoes tighter after the initial warm up loosens the laces, so that your foot won't slide forward in the shoe when you run/stop/split step and cause friction rom your toes sliding forward?

Do you wear a good supportive/cushioning insole like Superfeet Orange to provide a full contact of your foot along the entire shoe bed, lessening the chance for sliding of the foot in the shoe, or flexing at the arch, that would result in more friction at the toes?

Yes, when I said inside edge, I meant the medial side of the toe, where the big toe contacts the shoe/sock. Also want to clarify that I was answering the OP's question wondering if it could be an indicator of something with his mechanics. Yes, the callus could be a sign of a possible flaw in your running mechanics, but no it's not definitive and there are other things that could cause a callus in that area such as the fit of the shoe. If the OP wants to check it out he can get a gait analysis done for free at a running shoe store.

From the SuperFeet websiteIf there is a large callus build-up on the side of the big toe and at the ball of the foot, this is an indication of over-pronation in the rearfoot. As the foot hits the ground and starts to pronate, the foot will elongate and you will start to get pressure on the side of the big toe and at the ball of the foot. When the foot leaves the ground, instead of the big toe flexing and the foot leaving the ground pointed straight ahead, the foot will actually rotate and swivel to the outside. Therefore, you will be pushing off the side of the big toe and the side of the ball of the foot instead of allowing the foot to leave the ground going straight ahead.

Yes, I meant precisely the side of the big toes that contact the socks and shoes.

The paragraph from the SuperFeet website is an eery description of my mechanics.

BUT, that SeperFeet description must have been written in the context of walking, not playing tennis. You can't possibly call "allowing the foot to leave the ground going straight ahead instead of pushing off the side of the big toe and the side of the ball" the right way to push off of your main foot during swing.

I guess the bottom line is, how much pronation of the outside foot during weight transition to the inside foot is too much pronation. Is callus on the toe an indicator that there is perhaps too much pronation of the outside foot?

Alternatively, I don't have any callus on the inside ball of the feet. Perhaps I should allocate my weight evenly along the inside edge of my outside foot, rather than predominantly on the big toe.